Arsenal take firm control of fourth place – but it only gets harder

The Gunners are on a tear once again this season, and when one looks at the larger picture, it becomes undeniable that Arsenal have been on one since the debacles of August. After opening the Premier League campaign with three straight losses and no goals, this team has won 15 matches, drawn three and lost only four. Their 3-2 victory against Watford, rife with brilliant finishes, was just the latest example.

That is, without hesitation, really incredible. While there have been other bumps in the road along the way in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, this young team has really come together and taken their opportunities in the Premier League. This squad now sits in fourth position in the league table, ahead of the Red Devils and Hammers with three games in hand as well.

With the recent form of the likes of Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and Alexandre Lacazette, this team has the ability to push still harder; fourth is now very much attainable, but third place is also. Arsenal still has to play Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United and West Ham this season, and wins against four, or even all five somehow, would mean that third place would be all but sewn up too.

Yet all of that league table prognostication is only possible if the Gunners do take care of business in the lead-up to those matches. Questions will be asked when Arsenal face Leicester this Sunday, just days before the final match against Liverpool of this season. The Gunners will be looking to finally score against the Reds – at the fourth attempt – and take three points in the process of making a giant statement to the entire Premier League.

Arsenal have taken firm control of fourth place but they must focus on the task ahead – starting with Leicester

After that match, Aston Villa will offer a tough test too, as Steven Gerrard continues to re-imagine what this talented Villa team can do and achieve with their lively young roster. Matches against Tottenham and Chelsea still need to be slotted in after the Villa affair, with the scheduling of the final two months to be hectic to say the least.

Crystal Palace, Brighton and Southampton make up the April schedule prior to consecutive matches against Manchester United and West Ham United. Depending on how the schedule has been managed between today and that time, Arsenal could very well be in a very commanding position indeed.

Or, they could conversely have fallen on harder times against Premier League opposition that has so much to play for as well. That remains to be determined of course, but taking care of business is the name of the game, and this young team of Arsenal players have done just that since a horrid August.

While the aforementioned players, as well as Emile Smith Rowe, have really stepped up this season, so have the likes of Gabriel Magalhaes, new lads Benjamin White and Aaron Ramsdale, old face Cedric Soares, and the ever-reliable Kieran Tierney. When Takehiro Tomiyasu returns from calf troubles, there will be even greater depth and ability across this entire team.

Thomas Partey continues to look more comfortable right in front of the defensive backline, and Granit Xhaka remains a good enough partner at this point to slot into the left-sided No.8 and service the players in front and behind him. While the Gunners look to make Europe and Champions League next season with a very young team, there is every indication that that trend will only continue should they achieve this aim.

But that is the future, to be sure. In the present, the Gunners must stay on task and on point to secure their European ambitions moving forward. Are Arsenal capable of this? To be sure, they are. But that, of course, doesn’t always mean that it will play out as Gooners might wish for it to, however. It starts against the Foxes on Sunday, and Arsenal will have to be ready and willing to put in the work to take another three points from their opposition.